Citroen has a new flagship electric SUV – and it very recently became a little bit more affordable.

The e-C5 Aircross marks the first electric vehicle we’ve assessed following the announcement of the Government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG), qualifying it for the program.

Like all battery models from the French brand, the e-C5 Aircross has received the lower tier 2 discount amount of £1,500 off its list price.

The second-generation e-C5, succeeding its 2022 predecessor, not only finalizes Citroen’s updated lineup but also offers a starting price of roughly £32,000, thanks to the subsidy. 

This model features a range that competes with EVs costing up to £20,000 more and promises to deliver the most exceptionally comfortable interior within the Citroen SUV lineup.

With these significant promises in mind, motoring reporter Freda Lewis-Stempel from Daily Mail and This is Money took the new e-C5 Aircross for a test drive during its international launch in Mallorca, aiming to determine whether these assertions hold true and if it’s truly an SUV worth considering.

The e-C5 – a design that makes sense 

It’s often the case when listening to designers discuss the inspiration behind a car’s design—both inside and out—you’re left with nothing but an understanding of why the vehicle appears underwhelming.

But in the case of the e-C5, the explanation from project manager Kate Mouilleron was a refreshing confirmation of why Citroen got it right with the e-C5.

Because, while looks are subjective, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t a pretty damn good looking motor.

I mean, it’s obviously not an Aston Martin DBX or Ferrari Purosangue, but by SUV standards it’s a handsome car, with a few playful design flares to keep you interested, and to stop it looking like every other mid-size crossover on the market.

The big wheels, tense, dynamic lines on the body, a strong three quarter profile line, as well as contrasting black panels (these flat surfacing helps with aero) against the body colour gives the e-C5 it’s road presence.

The lack of chrome on the front or rear face, vertical boot lid and horizontal gloss black façade, three-point light signature and 3D ‘floating’ tail lamp lights are the features that mainly make the e-C5 stand out in the sea of similar SUVs.

Apparently, the rear of the e-C5 was inspired by technology and electronic devices, and it does have a whiff of retro, digital about it.

It seems like an EV that will age well – rather than being just another shapeless blob. 

The interior – is it the most comfortable Citroen SUV?

Mouilleron said that the interior is supposed to feel ‘like it’s your living room’ with the ‘soft, squashy feel of the sofa’.

And I can testify that Citroen’s Advanced Comfort Seats are lovely, with thick, textured foam that belongs in a Dreams advert, a backrest that wraps around you ‘like a shawl’ and electronically adjustable side bolster. 

Front seats have heating, ventilation and massage function with five programmes – I’d personally recommend the ‘cat paw’ one.

The back seats are in a bench design (so much better for three people than three individual seats) and have the same foam backrests which can be reclined between 21 and 33 degrees for maximum relaxing.

There is a huge amount of headroom and legroom in the e-C5: inches of space for people six foot and Citroen says there’s 51mm of second row knee room and 68mm of extra headroom.

The long, horizontal dash completes the ‘Sofa Design’ concept, and is supposed to look like a piece of living room furniture. It does because the lower part has the same foam fabric as the door panels and seats, creating a cocoon with warm, atmospheric ambient lighting. 

It is just as comfy as Citroen promised, with a sort of industrial-meets-Pop-Art interior that holds its own against far more luxurious car interiors based around rich, tan leather cabins. 

The most high-tech Citroen yet?

Again, Citroen has made a bold claim and delivered. 

The cabin is high-tech but it doesn’t verge on spaceship-y, partly thanks to the rest of the upbeat and ‘squishy’ interior design.

Taking centre stage is the 13-inch ‘cascade’ or ‘waterfall’ HD touchscreen, which is the largest central HD touchscreen offered by a Stellantis [Citroen’s parent company] brand, which includes the likes of Peugeot, Fiat and Vauxhall.

‘Cascading’ simply means that it floats down the central line of the dash, connecting seamlessly with the central console.

It’s joined by a 10-inch driver’s display and extended colour head-up display. 

I liked the clean, crisp look, and the division of space the central screen gives to the two front occupants. It means that storage is smartly tucked away under the vertical console which also houses a 15W wireless charging pad.

Perhaps more importantly though the latest integrated Citroen system performs well. 

You can wirelessly or cable connect to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but it’s helpful when the car’s own system is easy to use – especially when needing to deactivate driver assists and get to shortcut menus. 

Citroen has included nine aesthetically-pleasing buttons as well. 

The best button of all? The central one which when held down once will automatically turn off up to four customisable pre-selected safety assists. This button should become an industry standard.

High-tech these days means AI, and Citroen has entered the Chat GPT, well, chat.

‘Hello Citroen’ voice recognition system has Chat GPT directedly integrated which the French marque says ‘makes voice recognition even more fluid and natural and enhances onboard comfort’. 

Practicality: Is it the most practical Citroen SUV? 

I’ve already mentioned the headroom, legroom and the central storage.

And the e-C5 Aircross adds to that with its 651-litre boot (with hands-free opening), which when the rear seats (they split 40/20/40) are folded down, increases to 1,668 litres.

This is more than the rival sister EVs, the Vauxhall Grandland Electric and Peugeot e-3008, which have 550 and 588 litres of boot space respectively. The Skoda Enyaq has 585 litres.

I was pleased to see that the e-C5 didn’t lose any boot space to the plug-in hybrid model, and it has an impressively spacious 75-litre second floor which is adjustable between two heights.

The rear armrest also has two cupholders and two smartphone charging slots, the front glovebox can hold a 1.5-litre bottle; there’s a total of 40 litres of cabin storage space.

What’s the e-C5 like to drive? 

Much better than the plug-in hybrid model for starters.

The 230hp EV handles better, is smoother, seems faster off the block (although it the stats say it shouldn’t be) and has much, much better brakes.

Primarily what the e-C5 Aircross had going for it is refinement, both around Mallorcan towns and particularly on the motorways, and body roll is surprisingly well controlled for a more affordable car. It threads around corners nicely, and you can be quite lazy with your foot because the regenerative braking is easily adjustable.

It’s also impressively quiet with very little to no wind or road noise entering into the cabin. 

However it’s not actively ‘fun’ to drive, because there’s little communication between car and driver and it’s very slow off the mark.

The 230hp model should do 0-to-62mph in 8.8 seconds but getting on and off roundabouts made that number feel way out.

Overall, it’s more solid and dependable than spritely – but a lot of people will take comfort over personality.

The only real bugbear for me was the impaired visibility: the dash is so high that it obscures a lot of the road even for tall drivers – a camp I don’t belong to so for me it was even worse.

But the enjoyment of the comfort seats and customisable driving position makes being pilot an overall relaxing job.

Range and price: The other two big selling points of this car 

It might not be the biggest discount in the world, or even in the Electric Car Grant’s scale, but a £1,500 Band 2 discount is a discount none the less. 

And you don’t look a gold gifted horse in the mouth.

The lower level ECG discount brings the OTR starting price for the e-C5 Aircross to £32,565 for the 210hp You! trim, £35,205 for the 210hp Plus trim and £37,845 for the Max trim.

I drove the 230hp Long Range version which will following on, with prices to be confirmed.

The 210hp versions come with 322 miles of claimed range which is already very good, but if you have a bigger budget and want the range then hold out for the 421-mile version – that will get you from London to Edinburgh (theoretically) on a single charge.

It also lands the e-C5 in the top 10 EVs with the longest ranges, coming in at an impressive number 10 and tying with the Porsche Taycan – which coincidentally starts at a whopping £90,954.

The range is slightly less than the Vauxhall Grandland Electric and the Peugeot e-3008 though. Long Range versions of both should give you 435 miles on a single but both cars are more expensive than the e-C5 across each trim stage. 

The 210hp e-C5s will charge in 27 minutes on a 160kW DC rapid charger and in six hours and 45 minutes on a 7.4kW charger. The 230hp Extended Range takes the same time on 160kW charger but eight hours and 55 minutes on the 7.4kW AC charger.

Cars and Motoring Verdict: Is this the chic Citroen EV you should buy?

The e-C5 is a very appealing package for a mid-size, mid-market SUV EV.

I think my overwhelming takeaway was that I wasn’t bored with, or ambivalent about, the e-C5. 

I actively enjoyed my time in it. 

That might not sound like much plaudit but considering the number of EV SUVs that leave no lasting impression at all, this is relatively complimentary. 

And that’s because it’s been designed well, inside and out, with a level of relaxed flare that is befitting of a French brand. And there’s nothing that glaringly lets it down either.

It’s not a shooting star of the SUV galaxy, but it still shines brightly. So good for Citroen.